Icebreaker arrives

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32540, 25 February 1971, Page 15

Icebreaker arrives

Icebreakers are rare visitors to Lyttelton these days, and this made the arrival of the white-hulled Coast Guard icebreaker Burton Island doubly welcome early on Tuesday morning. The Burton Island, which is commanded by Captain F. E. McLean, has 21 officers and 185 enlisted men. She normally carries two helicopters, but at present has only one after having handed the other over to the Staten Island in Antarctica. The Burton Island and the Staten Island worked together in McMurdo Sound to clear a passage for the supply vessels Private John R. Towle and Wyandot and the supply tanker Maumee. McMurdo Sound was also entered twice by the tourist vessel Lindblad Explorer this season.

Today the Burton Island will be open to the public at No. 4 Wharf between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. She will also be open again between the same hours on i Saturday. The icebreaker left her base at Long Beach (Califorinia) on November 11. On her

south-bound passage she called at Callao and at Puenta Arenas, where she refuelled. She called also at Deception Island to land a scientist and establish a scientific station. Fourteen scientists and equipment were landed at Palmer Station, on the Antarctic Peninsula. The Burton Island made a rendezvous with the Staten Island in the Ross Sea on New Year’s Eve, and on New Year’s Day'began clearing a track for the supply vessels. An officer said the ice was unusually light this season, with an average thickness of only 6ft. Temperatures were also unusually high, one being recorded of 49 degrees Fahrenheit. Once McMurdo Sound was clear of ice the Burton Island began a seal survey in the Ross Sea. The survey included a population census and the taking of blood specimens to determine the extent of pollution within the marine life of the Ross Sea. On February 15 the Burton Island left McMurdo Sound for Hallett Station, where she picked up two scientists and 21 Naval men, all of

whom went ashore at Lyttelton.

The Burton Island will leave Lyttelton for Wellington next Sunday afternoon and will also make a fourday call at Tahiti on her return journey to Long Beach. The Royal New Zealand Navy’s supply vessel Endeavour is also due at Lyttelton from McMurdo Sound next Saturday. The Endeavour will land a number of passengers, including a party of 10 D.S.I.R. officers. One representative of the University of Canterbury and two representatives of Victoria University will also be aboard. The Endeavour will discharge a small quantity of stores from McMurdo Sound and will then load stores for Campbell Island. She will leave Lyttelton for Bluff next Monday to attend the Invercargill centenary. From Bluff she will make a voyage to Campbell Island, after which she will sail for Auckland by way of Lyttelton. The picture shows the Burton Island at Lyttelton.